Why I love Oakland …

Yes, I noticed the headlines about the latest Occupy Oakland conflict. But weighing much heavier was the passing of Karl Osterloh. Officially listed as a “volunteer extraordinaire” at Children’s Fairyland, he symbolizes everything I love about Oakland.

Like many residents, I have a hard time explaining the disconnect between the true Oakland that I know, and the Oakland that gets falsely stereotyped as nothing but a hopeless craphole. (There will be readers who don’t even get this far in the post — they will see the word “Oakland” in the headline and go straight to the comments, writing barely veiled racist comments and predicting my demise in a drive-by shooting.)

Most Oakland defenders I’ve met have adopted a sarcastic resignation, long ago accepting the fact that outside perception will never match reality. Some choose to see it as an advantage. My favorite Oakland quote ever came from Pixar producer Jonas Rivera, who made the movie “Up” with director (and fellow Oakland resident) Pete Docter.

One stereotype is true about Oakland. The political leadership of this city is an almost uninterrupted disappointment.

I’ll point to our mayor Jean Quan’s handling of the beginnings of the Occupy Oakland movement, attempting to play both sides to the great insult of every resident’s intelligence. She was like Alex P. Keaton in that “Family Ties” episode where he has two dates in different parts of the restaurant, and keeps running back and forth in an attempt to satisfy both as if the other didn’t exist.

I laughed at the negative ad by Meg Whitman that tried to portray then-governor candidate Jerry Brown as a mayoral failure in Oakland. The majority of Oakland residents I know talk about the Jerry Brown era wistfully, as if he was FDR and JFK rolled into one. In almost every Oakland mayoral election, the choice comes down to an in-over-their-head dreamer, and a lifetime politician followed by a cloud of alleged corruption. (I generally vote for the dreamer, who later makes me wish I voted for Mr. Shady.)

But that’s the astounding beauty of Oakland. Incompetent political leadership has resulted in a hyper-competent citizenry. These are people who think the city is worth fighting for, and are willing to get scrappy to preserve the things they hella love. Small businesses can never get fat, maintain the status quo or coast on past successes. Non-profits can’t get lazy, because if they lose inertia, they will die. As a result, many of the surviving entities are awesome. (Have you seen the Oaklandish truck?) I don’t know many bad deals in Oakland.

The things that make Oakland notorious cause all that is great to stand out in stark relief. The struggles of the city — crime and fiscal problems in particular — have yielded a steady stream of great music and art, delicious food and fantastic ideas. The battle is hard, so we bond closer together, in many cases transcending race, gender or sexual preference. When I moved into a neighborhood that was predominately black, I was not viewed as Whitey McWhite the Gentrifier. Once I put in my lawn and proved I was improving nearby property values, I became accepted as part of the solution.

The last time we had a block party in our little corner of East Oakland, my postal carrier was there. His name is Johnny, the only mailman I’ve ever known by name in 41 years. I recently went to a new burger place — it was my second time there, and I was the only customer — and the owner handed me a padlock to secure the gate on my way out. He needed to make a few deliveries, and trusted me not to clean out the place. ”That’s so Oakland,” I told my wife after relaying the story. I meant it in a good way.

Most Oakland residents can tell you a hundred stories like these, and each one individually isn’t worth a tiny brief in the smallest blog or newspaper. But collectively, these stories create something greater than the worst of the depressing headlines.

Occupy Oakland is a high-profile battle in a historic movement for this country, leading local and national news. But I don’t see that as the battle for Oakland. (Of the 400 people arrested last weekend, what percentage live in Oakland?) My fear isn’t about wealth distribution in the city, but with the survival of the city’s soul. It’s a battle involving a spirited population that loves the city enough to preserve its greatness against horrible odds.

I think the recent uprising by business owners over the city’s ridiculously steep parking meter increases is a much more important fight for Oakland’s future than who ends up sleeping in the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center. My fears about Oakland involve a future with no restaurants, book stores, theaters or safe parks. That the cultural improvements downtown and in Jack London Square reverse course.

That those who run the dysfunctional infrastructure cut so many other things to save themselves and their cronies, the city’s false stereotype ultimately becomes true.

My Twitter stream was busy this weekend, filled with activist journalists breathlessly covering their own involvement in the Occupy melee (Look guys! — I got arrested again!), and criticizing the mainstream media for not covering them even more. Osterloh passed quietly. I wouldn’t have known except for a single post on the Fairyland Facebook page.

I spoke to Osterloh two years ago for a story about Fairyland director C.J. Hirschfield’s work to revive the storybook-themed park. He was very kind, but a bit reluctant to talk — first making absolutely sure the story was focused on Hirschfield, not himself.

When Fairyland was in disrepair and nearly closed in the 1990s, Osterloh was part of a group of locals that saved the park by turning it into a non-profit and fixing it with their skills, sweat and ingenuity. Between 1999 and 2001 alone, Osterloh donated 2,500 hours as a general contractor, helping to turn a declining park into a success story. His death came during the same week that the city announced a budget that would cut city funding to Fairyland and the similarly scrappy Oakland Zoo by 40 percent — a decision that still might be reversed. In this town, with these residents, you don’t screw with Willy the Whale without a fight.

Rest in Peace, Karl Osterloh. You loved Oakland, and you were not alone.

PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder/editor of The Big Event. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/peterhartlaub. Follow The Big Event on Facebook. Contact him at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com.

This is Part II in an occasion series. Read Part I here. The top photo of Willy the Whale in Lake Merritt is courtesy Children’s Fairyland. The second photo is the legendary hamburger cake at Merritt Bakery. Full disclosure: Boots Riley would probably hate this post.